Welcome!
It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Brianna Michele Adams, but you can call me Bri, like my favorite cheese. I’m the dreamer, creative director, and all around control freak here at Halfpint Design! I’m a commercial interior designer by profession, and a party planner by passion who has a bad case of wanderlust!
First, I want to send a shout out to all the hard working moms trying to make birthdays special. Second, extend a special welcome and invite to our party dads. I see you tiptoeing around, often uncomfortable in this decidedly female dominated field. You are doing a great thing to build a bond with your children and you will find the tools you need here at Halfpint Design to support your journey.
My Story
Interior design has been my decided career path since I was 14 years old. What can I say? I’m a planner. I’ve always been interested in visual organization and architecture. As a 5th grader I participated in a “Talented And Gifted” program that built scale models of that years Street of Dreams homes in Portland, Oregon. Talk about an incredible opportunity for an 11 year old! It stuck with me and I attended Brigham Young University {yep, I’m one of those Mormons} for Interior Design several years later. You’d think home design would be my forte, but after a stint in residential design in the Cayman Islands, {Seriously my first job out of college was in the Caribbean, but don’t be too jealous, they were the only ones to call me back!} I decided residential design wasn’t my cup of tea. An old classmate drew me to the commercial realm and my retail design career began. For years I designed stores for products that change color in the sun at Del Sol. It was awesome for a single gal. I had crazy hours but traveled all over the continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Very sexy, but tiring and lonely after a while.
Love Birds
One day a coworker asked me to go out with his friend as a “huge favor” that very same night. Blind date, no pressure, “you have nothing in common.” His date was sick {btw, he had no date} and he had an extra ticket to a Maroon 5 concert. Um…yes please! This was in 2003 when Maroon 5 was just starting to break out and I stood just 6 feet from Adam Levine in the tiny venue. It was an awesome night, but I wasn’t smitten…until he kept popping up. Bringing me gifts, buying me lunch, running my errands, how could I not fall in love with this man!? Todd made me laugh and watched me cry and didn’t seem to mind my particular brand of crazy. We married for time and all eternity over Labor Day weekend in 2004 and honeymooned in Aruba just in time to experience Hurricane Ivan. That was a travel experience I’ll never forget! Flooding, lightning filling the whole sky, fallen trees, and washed out roads…all very exciting!
My Little Chickadees
I’m the proud Christian mamma of three awesome kiddos who are the light of my life and the mess under my feet. Not to mention the inspiration for this whole Halfpint business! We live in Salt Lake City, Utah with a black lab in a craftsman style home I adore. Let me introduce you to the rest of the gang:
Monkey-Girl: is a typical first child, advanced in every way. My very responsible daughter with a fiery temper to match her beautiful red hair. She’s never met a stranger, just another new friend.
D-Man: is my easy-going, truck loving, mess-making dude who is growing by leaps and bounds in preschool out from under the oppressive shadow of his loving big sister.
And number 3, the Baby Boy: Our caboose is an absolute joy, who is morphing from toddler to boy right before my very eyes. Can anyone please make it stop!?
I Do Love To Travel
Back when we were “single” {this is how we refer to life… before children} we traveled as much as possible. We were able to get to India, Nepal, France, China, Mexico, Belize, and several Caribbean islands. Now, post kiddos, we venture to exotic locations like San Francisco, Chicago, and if I’m lucky…New York. Although, we were able to sneak in a 10 year anniversary trip to Tahiti! {which was a dream!} We try to go on at least one trip each year without the kids. That’s what we call a vacation! I love my children, but in order for us to appreciate each other, being separated for a short time is crucial! And we have big plans for some extended travel abroad with the whole family in a few years. I’ll keep you posted as that develops.
My Dreams
Now I’m doing hospitality design, which is one step closer to my goal of designing a resort before I die. I love it, but did you know that a hotel takes over a year before it actually opens?
Do you know what that does to a creative mind? It gets to work like crazy and select and design, and then….nothing…for months and months…and did I mention months? I felt my creativity bubbling up and I started planning events to keep it from getting all over and making a gigantic mess. I started with weddings. After I got married I realized how tough it was to plan a wedding and decided no one should have to go through it alone. But once I had children the parties began in earnest. I adore children’s parties. They are, of course, usually designed for my own entertainment! But the kiddos are always the stars of the show. After several years of researching and planning, a few party trends started to bother me. As a designer I place a high value on aesthetically pleasing, yet functional, design. So when did everything “kid” become so tacky? Why couldn’t I find invitations and printables that I loved with unique and simple theme ideas? Why were all the colors brash and bold? Why do they make clothing for 6 year old girls that make them look 16? {I digress} You can find my party printables in the HalfpintPartyDesign Etsy Shop and access some freebies in the Halfpint VIPP Printable Library.
Well, I decided to bring classy back to children’s parties one birthday at a time. Halfpint Design is an attempt to make your life easier, your parties classier, and your budget more reasonable. I started this blog to share my love of parties, in an effort to encourage and support you, party parent. I blog because if I don’t get these thoughts out of my head, I’ll never be able to sleep! But mostly, I blog to share my failures and successes with a community of like-minded people so you can learn from my mistakes and benefit from my finds.
Last, But Not Least
I founded this blog on 3 basic principles:
- I say NO to licensed characters: I want to create classic party themes that engage children’s imaginations
- I say NO to dessert buffets: American children consume way too much sugar already!
- And I say heck NO to a second mortgage in order to afford it all! When did the party become more important than the child?
How’d we do? Do you believe some of the same things? If not, you might be thinking, “Wow she’s awfully opinionated!” And you’d be right! But I’ll always be honest with you my dear reader. There will be no pretense here. I’m all about keeping it real. Real’ awesome is the goal.
Now that you know all about me, it’s your turn. I’d love to get to know you! Drop me a comment or email and let me know what you think. Then come join me on this adventure in party land.
